Do You Recognize The 6 Prostate Cancer Symptoms?

One in six men experience prostate cancer. It is one of the leading causes of death in American men. If left untreated, it can gradually spread to other parts of the body and become irreversible.

Even though you have prostate cancer, you may not notice the symptoms at all especially in the initial stage. If you are over 40 years old, it is recommended that you have your prostate examined to detect any cancer cells.

You can take Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) and Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) tests to detect prostate cancer. However, they are not accurate. Always check with your doctor for other prostate examinations.

If you have prostate cancer, your level of PSA will be high enough to be detected. But sometimes, the results can be tampered by other factors which can cause your PSA to rise.

Using a DRE procedure, your doctor can distinguish between prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia (BHP) or prostatitis (inflammation of prostate) which is not cancerous. Your doctor will examine for abnormality of the prostate by putting his finger into your anus. By scrutinizing the size, shape, and texture of the prostate, it will reveal whether the prostate is in good health or not.

These symptoms may not signify that you have prostate cancer. Some of the common signs in the early stage that you need to be aware of are:

1. Problem in urinating

2. Increased urination at night

3. Pain during urination

4. Presence of blood in the urine

5. Painful ejaculation

6. Erectile dysfunction

When the cancer spreads to bone and lymph nodes, you will feel pain in your lower back, spine, pelvis, upper thighs, and ribs. This may also weaken your legs and lead to involuntary urination or defecation.

Sometimes, prostate cancer symptoms mimic BHP. Difficulty and increased night time urination are usually accompanied with BHP.

There are several prostate cancer treatments to choose from. Choice of treatment depends on your doctor's advice. Among the treatments are prostate radiation therapy, chemotherapy, active surveillance and surgery.

Early detection of prostate cancer can prevent unnecessary surgery or radiation therapy. You can seek alternative treatment instead. Be aware of these symptoms and signs. It is not something you can ignore even though they are mild and are not affecting your daily routines. Taking care of your prostate health can help you enjoy your retirement years happily.

Michael Cage writes at his blog about different ways to keep your prostate healthy. If you want know how to maintain your prostate health [http://www.healthyprostatesecrets.com], read his postings at [http://www.healthyprostatesecrets.com] today. A healthy prostate allows you to enjoy the remaining years of your life after retirement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Cage
http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-You-Recognize-The-6-Prostate-Cancer-Symptoms?&id=487060

The Key Facts Behind Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer of UK men. If it is found early and is still confined to the gland itself then the chances of survival are excellent. Modern surgical techniques, combined with drugs such as Viagra, mean that an operation to treat prostate cancer does not signal the end of a patient's sex-life. The prostate itself is a small, walnut-sized gland situated near the bladder in men that produces one component of semen. There are a broad range of prostate cancers, some of which are extremely gentle and indolent and may not cause any significant ill health. However, others have the ability to spread to other parts of the body and cause more significant damage if not treated. This means it is important to catch prostate cancer early and then it is possible to treat it using a radiotherapy and surgery. The Symptoms of Prostate Cancer The first sign of prostate cancer can be noticed when you go to the toilet. You may find that you are going to the toilet a lot more and that you are unable to maintain a full stream whilst urinating. However, these problems are also associated with a number of medical problems and do not always signal prostate cancer. The symptoms of prostate cancer are caused by the growth of cells, whether malignant or benign, pushing against the urethra, the thin tube which links the bladder to the penis. If you are suffering from the above symptoms then you should also look out for painful urination or ejaculation, blood in urine or semen, and pain in lower back, hips or thighs. Again these symptoms could be caused by any number of things, including infection, but it would be wise to visit your GP to get them checked out. There are several ways that a doctor can check for prostate cancer. The simplest way is the digital rectal examination, in which the doctor insert a gloved finger into the rectum to feel for an an enlarged prostate. Following this a blood test can be conducted to look for any rises in any chemicals in the blood, and after this comes more sophisticated tests, such as ultrasound scans, and x-rays. The Causes of Prostate Cancer The exact causes of prostate cancer are still unclear but there are a number of factors which may increase your chances of developing it. These include, but are not limited to, a family history of prostate cancer, and a fat-rich diet. There have been a number of studies into the link between prostate cancer and vasectomy but these have so far proved to be inconclusive. Treatment for Prostate Cancer Sometimes the best treatment for prostate cancer can be to not treat it at all. This is sometimes the case of older men when it is judged that surgery or other treatments may cause more harm than good. If the cancer has spread from the prostate, or it is believed that it will spread, then surgery is normally the first course of action to remove it whilst is still possible and prevent further spreading. A prostatectomy is when the prostate gland is removed, usually along with small parts of the lymphatic system near the gland. However, this type of surgery can cause nerve damage which can prevent men from getting an erection ever again, or maintain complete control over urination. This does not mean that a man's sex life is over though as modern 'nerve-sparing' surgical techniques, when combined with drugs such as Viagra, can ensure that the effects on both function and quality of life are minimised. Other treatment option is radiotherapy which will be precisely targeted on the pelvic area, whilst other doctors are fighting prostate cancer by using the body's own hormones. In the latter's case, prostate cells, including cancerous ones, which are sensitive to levels of certain male hormones, can be rendered far less active if levels are reduced. However, this can reduce the sex-drive of the patient. Advances in Prostate Cancer Surgery Advances in prostate cancer surgery mean that surgeons can now successfully remove the prostate without causing the problematic nerve damage which has been inevitable in the past. In addition, radiotherapy technology advances mean that far higher doses can be targeted more precisely on the prostate, killing more cancer cells with fewer treatments. A technique called prostate brachytherapy has also made some great advances in recent times and its use is becoming more and more common. There are two methods of brachytherapy - permanent seed implantation and high dose rate (HDR) temporary brachytherapy. Permanent seed implantation involves injecting approximately 100 radioactive seeds into the prostate gland, which give off cancer-killing radiation at a low dose rate over several weeks or months, and the seeds remain in the prostate gland permanently. HDR temporary brachytherapy involves placing very tiny plastic catheters into the prostate gland, and then giving a series of radiation treatments through these catheters. Another option is High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound, which uses sound waves to 'melt' away the cancer.

About Author: The Prostate Cancers Website offers information and resources about prostate cancer. It has details of its causes, symptoms and treatments. For more information please visit http://www.prostate-cancers.co.uk/.

Article Source: ArticlesAlley.com

Prostate Cancer Survival Rates in UK

There are approximately 25 000 men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the United Kingdom. For these men the risk of dying from their prostate cancer depends on a number of risk factors. For example if the cancer is confined to the prostate gland at diagnosis the chance of surviving to 5 years is 70%. If the cancer has already spread e.g. to the bones then only 20% of men will survive to five years. Of all the men who currently have prostate cancer in the UK approximately 10,000 will die of the disease each year. The prostate cancer survival rate is much higher in the developed world - unsurprisingly.

When a man is first diagnosed with prostate cancer then the doctor who has found the cancer (most often a "urologist" - a surgeon who specialises in looking after problems to do with the kidneys, prostate and bladder) will arrange a series of tests to help assess the risk for that individual patient. The results of these tests will in turn help the doctor and patient to decide the best treatment for that patient.

Prostate Cancer Tests to Help Predict Survival

1. Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA

2. Digital Rectal Examination or DRE

3. Trans-rectal Ultrasound and Biopsy

4. CT or MRI Scan

5. Bone Scan

PSA
This is a protein made by the prostate gland which can be measured on a sample of your blood i.e. a blood test. The PSA level can be raised by non cancerous problems with the prostate gland i.e. not all men who have a raised PSA have prostate cancer. Also some men who have prostate cancer will not have a raised PSA. However PSA does tend to increase as prostate cancers grow, invade and spread so PSA can be used to monitor how a prostate cancer is progressing or how it is responding to treatments.

DRE
This is where a doctor feels the prostate gland through the back passage. It tells the doctor how big the prostate gland is, whether the cancer is able to be felt easily and whether it has invaded the area near by.

Tran-Rectal Ultrasound and Biopsy
For this test you need to lie on your side with your knees brought up into the chest (same position as for a DRE). An ultrasound probe is then inserted into the back passage. This enables the doctor to see on a screen the outline of the prostate gland. There is no radiation involved. The image on the screen then allows the doctor to insert a needle safely into the prostate gland to take some samples of the prostate tissue. Usually several samples are taken from each area of the prostate gland. These samples are then sent to a laboratory to be looked at under a microscope. This allows confirmation that there is prostate cancer present and tells us how aggressive the cancer looks. Sometimes a local anaesthetic is used to help make the procedure more comfortable.

CT or MRI Scan
This is usually carried out in an x-ray department and involves lying still on a thin couch which moves through either a big donut (CT) or into a long tunnel (MRI). This is not painful in any way. The pictures gained from this test helps the doctors to see whether the prostate cancer is still within the prostate gland or whether it had started to invade out of the gland into other surrounding structures. This tells the doctor what "stage" the prostate cancer is.

Bone Scan
This requires you to have an injection and then to lie on a special table where a camera scans the whole body. It shows up whether any of the bones in the body have been affected by the prostate cancer i.e. whether the prostate cancer has spread to the bones.

Prostate Cancer Stage and Survival

The stage of prostate cancer describes how far the cancer has grown and spread. It is assessed by a mixture of DRE and CT/MRI scans.

T1 Stage
This is very early prostate cancer which can only be seen under a microscope. At this stage the cancer would not cause any symptoms. Men with this stage are at low risk from their disease may not need any treatment but surveillance. The original cause of a prostate cancer problem can be difficult to diagnose.

T2 Stage
This is early prostate cancer but is now big enough to be felt by a doctor on DRE. This may still not have caused any symptoms. This is most often cured if treatment is undertaken at this stage and about 70% of men are still alive after 5 years i.e. average length of survival from diagnosis is well over 5 years.

T3 Stage
This is locally advanced prostate cancer which has started to extend and invade outside of the prostate gland. This stage would often cause bladder symptoms in men. By this stage in the disease the chance of cure with treatments is reduced however survival is often around five years.

T4 Stage
This is more advanced prostate cancer which invades the structures around the gland. At this stage there are often already secondaries e.g. bone metastases. If the disease has spread it is usually incurable but may be controlled for some time. The average survival is between 1 and 3 years.

Predicting Survival in Prostate Cancer

Doctors use a combination of risk factors to predict the behaviour of prostate cancer but cancers do not always act as expected. The factors they consider include the cancer stage (see above), the age of the patient, the PSA level and how quickly it is rising, and the Gleason Score. The Gleason score is a marker of how aggressive the cancer looks under the microscope and how much of the gland is affected by cancer.

Adrian Jones has a personal interest in promoting awareness and self-help in dealing with several forms of cancer. This article is from his website dealing with prostate cancer and prostate cancer treatments [http://www.justabout-prostatecancer.com/treatments/prostate_cancer_treatments_index.html]. He writes on other forms of cancer, including colon cancer [http://www.justabout-coloncancer.com/]. This article is available for reprint for your website and/or newsletter, provided that you maintain its copyright integrity and include this resource box information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adrian_Jones
http://EzineArticles.com/?Prostate-Cancer-Survival-Rates-in-UK&id=313455

Important Facts And Factors Regarding Prostate Cancer Survival Rates

There are many factors involved in whether or not you will get prostate cancer and, if you are diagnosed, what your prostate cancer survival rates might be. It may not be a pleasant thing to talk about, but here are some facts:

Your age: All men have a risk of prostate cancer. The odds of you getting prostate cancer over your lifetime are one in ten. It is unusual for a man under the age of 60 to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. But, once you reach your 60s, your odds now begin to rise with 70% of all prostate cancer diagnoses in men over the age of 65. Once you reach your 70s you now have a one and three chance for a prostate cancer diagnoses.

Your family history: If prostate cancer runs in your immediate family, your father or brothers, you are 11 times more likely than the average man to develop prostate cancer.

Your Ethnicity: With nearly 2.4 times higher death rates than Caucasian men, African-American men are recommended to get earlier screening.

Your Diet and obesity: As studies show, your diet may affect your chances of developing prostate cancer. The death rates for obese men are increased.

Your prostate cancer survival rate depends greatly on which stage your cancer is diagnosed. There are the four stages:

T1 Stage: Only through a microscope can this stage of cancer be detected. The risks at this stage are very low and may only require careful watching, not treatment. Symptoms of the disease may not be felt at this stage.

T2 Stage: Now the cancer can be felt during a DRE (Digital Rectal Examination). At this stage, the disease is often curable and about 70% of men are still living after 5 years. Symptoms may or may not be felt at this stage.

T3 Stage: At this stage, the cancer is locally advanced and is invading outside the prostate gland. The chance of a cure at this stage is reduced and survival rate is around 5 years. There could be symptoms at this stage, especially in the bladder.

T4 Stage: This is the most advanced stage as the cancer has now spread to the structures around the gland. There are usually secondaries involved like bone metastases. The survival rate is now between 1 and 3 years, as it is usually incurable now.

Your prostate cancer survival rate is very hard to predict. Early diagnosis is key. Other factors are age and overall health of the patient, how quickly your PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) is rising and your Gleason score. A Gleason score looks at the cancer under a microscope, checks its aggressiveness and how much of the gland is affected. The good news is that 99% of men survive at least five years after being diagnosed, the 10 year survival rate is 92% and 61% will survive at least 15 years. So get your recommended exams starting at age 50 for the average man and 45 for those with higher risk factors.

For more detailed information on prostate cancer survival rates try visiting http://www.onlineprostatehealthguide.com, a website that provides prostate cancer advice, tips and resources to include information on prostate cancer surgery.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Gorman
http://EzineArticles.com/?Important-Facts-And-Factors-Regarding-Prostate-Cancer-Survival-Rates&id=427040

How To Live, With Prostate Cancer

I am not a doctor, so I can't and shouldn't give medical advice. But I am a survivor, so I can tell the story of my journey.

I want to be really frank, transparent even with this short read, but don't let brevity distract from the potency of the message. For some who read this, it could well be life saving.

Every man aged 40 & over should read this account and pass it on to their families, friends and peers. For that matter every woman with a 40 plus man in her life or family should read this, and share it widely.

Prostate cancer is one of those sneaky afflictions that sneaks up on men unannounced, and without much, or any warning. But once it has us in its clutches, it is often too late to do anything about it.

At around age 50 my doctor, or GP, started doing blood tests to measure PSA levels. Results were, hmm, OK; in low single digits; don't worry too much about it was the prognosis.

And over the next few years results bounced up & down a bit, but generally trended upwards. The key here is, of course, that regular testing over a period of time is critical, and not simply a one off test as it is the trend that is important.

Oh yes, I shouldn't forget the DRE... I had all those fairly uncool digital rectal inspections. When you see, and hear, your GP pulling on those latex gloves, you kind of think this is definitely not cool. Does this make you feel great? No, not really.

My prostate was enlarged, not hugely, but noticeably. This, I was told, was not necessarily anything to worry about, as it could occur without anything cancerous going on; and in any case, if not cancerous this could be treated successfully.

I was also experiencing some bladder issues; again, nothing that could be deemed conclusive regarding cancer, but just another thing going on that required watching.

Actually, I was finding it harder to 'go' at times. And whilst it might have been harder to actually 'go', the need was certainly more frequent: I was having to get up during the night 2-3 times regularly.

The most embarrassing thing was going to the public urinals and standing alongside lots of other men, doing what you do; or trying to. It's frustrating and embarrassing standing there waiting; and waiting; for the flow to start.

When my PSA reached around 7, my GP recommended I see a specialist. I was a bit ho-hum about this, but like all good patients did as I was told. After all, he was my doctor, and should know what he is doing.

I'd already had an ultrasound, which was also inconclusive and didn't reveal anything suspicious so my specialist, having looked over these results, told me a biopsy was the next best step, where they go in and cut out some small core samples for analysis.

So, a few days later I was admitted, anesthetized, and the next thing I knew I was laying there trying to wake up. Job done. Another nice experience? Not really.

The wait for the results was a bit of a challenge but pretty soon, there they were. Positive! I had 5 positive results for Prostate Cancer out of the group of 12 samples.

Straight away I was dispatched for a series of very thorough scans & x-rays from head to foot; the results from these too were nothing too concerning, and it looked like the cancer had not began to spread, or metastasize.

My Gleeson score of 6 was getting up there; on the threshold of medium risk, but not yet drastic.

The specialist gave me a list of options including leave it for a few months, to radiotherapy, to radical surgery.

I thought about this for a while... about 5 seconds, and said let's go in and get that sucker.

So, quite quickly I was introduced to a really, really good surgeon who reviewed all the information and we decided to get on with it as soon as possible. We did further scans to get a better picture of what was going on, and be more sure that it hadn't spread.

There was a delay of about six weeks to make sure I had no residual issues from the biopsy, and promptly after that I was admitted to hospital for robotic surgery.

I decided to go for robotic rather than conventional surgery as the potential recovery time was much quicker, and there seemed to be fewer post operative issues.

The operation went really smoothly, and after about six hours I had my eyes open again; the robotic nerve sparing surgery was very successful; and next day I was up on my feet. A bit tender, but getting around.

Amazingly, I had virtually no pain; and no bleeding. Nursing staff were really surprised at my recovery post operation and my surgeon told me that I make him look good; but I think, too, that my friend God had His fingerprints on this procedure as well.

I was discharged 48 hours after the operation and part of the deal was having to have a catheter and a leg bag for a week; not one of my favorite activities, but all part of the process I was told.

A week later I went in and had the catheter and bag removed. At last!

They made me drink liters and liters of water for a few hours, carefully measuring what came out; and checked just how I was holding it all in.

I had been prepped to expect that I would be incontinent for some time; probably for a few months; and possibly for many months. This would mean wearing pads to soak up those 'unfortunate leaks'.

But, much, much to the surprise of the nursing staff I had no incontinence; at all, so didn't have to wear pads and all of that stuff. Cool.

The next thing was my pathology results. The affected parts were sent away for analysis to see just how developed the cancer was. Results soon came back and confirmed that in fact it was more developed than we had thought, so getting in quick was vindicated.

Now, I'm maintaining a watching brief for several years to see that no further complications arise.

Oh, and by the way, all the plumbing problems went away.

Moral to this story:

Each year in my home country of Australia 20,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed; and each year almost 3300 men die from prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer often has no symptoms, and is not necessarily confined to older men; it is often easy to treat if diagnosed early.

If you are a male aged 40 or over, go see your doctor and get a checkup. If he says no need to worry yet, insist, or go see another doctor.

The greatest risk for men is complacency, and the fear of having it checked out. Men, generally, are late presenters; they don't go to their doctor unless they really have to. This reason alone means many men have prostate cancer develop unawares, and by the time symptoms are experienced, it is too late.

Early diagnosis and intervention is key to survival. It is your life at stake.

Do some research; and see your doctor.

Do it!

Neil Findlay is a successful orator and writer with over 30 years business experience in the highly competitive transport and logistics industry.Neil has been awarded multiple, often repeat, awards for excellence across a broad range of business spheres. Find out more about how to improve your leadership and public speaking capabilities by visiting http://www.neilfindlay.com or http://neilfindlay.com/blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Neil_Findlay
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Live,-With-Prostate-Cancer&id=7527930